Improving the aesthetics of a liquid or gel type automatic dishwashing detergent product (liquid/gel ADW or liqui-gel ADW) is believed to be a very important aspect of this product Typically, consumers of liquid ADW products have a preference for liquid ADW products having a certain color or appearance. The addition of a transparent or translucent characteristics to a liquid ADW composition can improve the desirability of the product because of a transparent or translucent product has a shiny appearance which is liked by consumers. Also, a transparent or translucent product allows for suspension of colored prills into that product, which can further enhance the physical appearance of the product. The transparent product may be clear, or dyed, using dyes that do not cause significant staining or dyeing of plastics during the wash cycle in automatic dishwashing.
In the low-free water environment of a typical phosphate containing gel type ADW composition, it is a real challenge to obtain clear or translucent characteristics. This is primarily due to the relatively low solubility of commodity phosphate builders, such as sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), which has a solubility typically of about 14.5 grams per 100 cc of water at room temperature. Previous formulators wishing to obtain clear or translucent characteristics in a liquid or gel type ADW have been forced to use highly soluble potassium tripolyphosphate (KTPP), or alternatively, commercially available mixtures of sodium tripolyphosphate and potassium tripolyphosphates (commonly referred to as SKTPP) which have heretofore served a dual purpose of being a potassium source (for transparency/translucency) and a phosphate source (for cleaning performance). The use of KTPP and SKTPP is generally considered undesirable for various reasons, one of them being the economics of manufacturing. Alternatively, the previous formulators have been forced to use very low levels of KTPPs or SKTPs, which detrimentally affects cleaning performance. Thus, a considerable effort has been directed in this field, to develop novel solutions for attaining transparency and/or translucency in liqui-gel ADWs.
It has been desirable to have a liqui-gel ADW product having transparency and/or translucency characteristics, but without using (i) potassium tripolyphosphate (KTPP), and/or (ii) commercially available mixtures of sodium tripolyphosphate and potassium tripolyphosphate (SKTPP), while at the same time still maintaining high phosphate levels so as to not detrimentally affect cleaning performance.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered that by maintaining a K:Na weight ratio greater than at least about 0.5:1, K:Na, outstanding translucent characteristics can be imparted without having to use KTPP or SKTPP. Thus, high phosphate levels can be attained by the addition of sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) alone, along with the addition of potassium hydroxide (KOH) for obtaining high alkalinity or the addition of other sources of potassium for obtaining moderate alkalinity.
The present invention is thus directed to overcome one or more of the problems as set forth before.